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My Trailhawk Mods...

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mods
18K views 27 replies 7 participants last post by  XJ97SPORT 
#1 · (Edited)
A few before and after pics:

First thing I did to the "Hawk" was get a cargo area mat and tidy up the four corners. Also started looking for an extra set of wheels. Picked up these stockers (18x8) two weeks ago, paid two and quarter for all four. Pulled the tires off and then off they went to get coated. Turn around was only a week. The color is Black Satin. Thought about going gloss black but the Hawk is going to be my "expedition vehicle". The center caps were the chromed plastic, hit them with some 400 and then four coats of Krylon black.

Next, off to get tires...
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Since it was going to be a week or more for the wheels I started looking at tires. Not the biggest selection M/T tires for 18" rims. Had experience with the Goodyear DuraTrac's before, ran 33's on a '00 TJ and liked them. Far better than an AT tire when offroad and they have very good street manners too.

Off with the street wheels and tires...
And baby has new shoes!!! :D
 

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#4 ·
you have any pics of the front? Looks like you threw some auxiliary lights on there but not sure.

Oh, and nice looking rig

Grill inserts?
 
#6 · (Edited)
Chunderboy... well I guess you could call them "grill inserts" and good catch on the "auxiliary lights".

Since I wanted to run some additional lights (pencil beams) I started looking for ways to mount them. The top part of the plastic bumper was my original thought, but what a hassle to get in/behind the "bumper". Then there would be the issue of reinforcing the "bumper" so it wouldn't vibrate and crack when subjected to normal street and offroad conditions.

Then took a closer look at the grill, hmmmm this might work. Mocked up some cardboard templates and had some 1/8" (11 gauge) plate steel. Looked closer for what was behind the grill and found that on the drivers side there is what appears to be an ambient air temp probe. Thought the flat plate could possibly restrict air flow too much, so picked up some perforated plate and cut out the sections.

Then welded some threaded (1/4 -20) couplings to the pieces that were going to be on the inside of the grill. For the outside (front of grill) welded the light mounting brackets to the bottom so the light would be located just above the "bumper". Then used two cap head bolts to sandwich the the grill.

The following pics pretty much show the rest of the install for these mock-up pieces. I think I'm going to make the final pieces more of an hour glass shape.

Still have to pull some wire into the cabin for the switch. Anybody know of the best way to "get in" from the engine side? Probably won't tap into the "canbus" system but just come off the battery posts under the hood.

Lights are Hella 500 Black Magic.
 

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#11 ·
Dave... thanks, the light brackets are my test pieces and I think I will make another set with a few changes. (Did you have a chance to check out that other set of wheels?)

As for the powder coating, yes they sprayed the complete back side of the wheels, unlike the factory finish. Cost, I think was about average at $105 each. That included stripping, cleaning, and coating. A couple of other places wanted $300 - $325 just for coating and I had to bring in "clean" wheels.

Kelsey73 - No, no rubbing in Sport, Park, or Auto modes with four people in the Jeep when driven on the street. Haven't had a chance to flex it offroad in setting 1 and 2 yet.

I suspect that the 275/65/18 tire is going to be the largest tire that will fit under the fender and still be able to offroad it. On the front, the inside sidewall is within a 1/2" of touching the "knuckle" just below the upper control arm. See #1 in diagram below. When offroad, with the suspension flexed and the tire stacked up against a rock (compressed) there should be no deflection into the knuckle.

Since the DuraTracs are just over 1-1/2" taller than the stock Silent Armor I do notice the extra 3/4" in height when getting in the vehicle. As for ride, it's still very nice with the Q/L suspension. They're just a little bit stiffer but I'm running 41 lbs in them right now. Stock tires were at 35.

I've run several different M/T tires on my XJ's and TJ like the BFG KM M/T's, Kumho's, Pro Comp, Goodyear MT-R's, etc. The DuraTrac's do have just a little "sing" to them, which I don't mind, but nothing like the "drrrrrrrr" you get from the other M/T's.
 

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#12 ·
XJ: No, back to wheel hunting. Wow the powder coating you had done was more than reasonable and what a great job. I will have to ask at our local place and see what they would charge in case I locate some wheels, bet it is more than $105 though. Dave
 
#14 ·
This might be a silly question, but why 41lbs if 36 is optimal? I'm running 34 on my 18s (duelers)
 
#15 ·
Chunderboy - When the new tires and sensors were installed last week they said they put 40psi in them to start. After I drove less than 2 miles the all the sensors were reporting in, but there was a difference of 2-3 lbs on each corner. So the next morning I checked them cold, temp was about 45degs. The PSI range was 36 to 39, brought them all up to 41. Basically just a random decision although I wanted to see what the ride was like. I then drove some freeway and city streets and the TPMS display read 43 on all four corners.

I've tended to run a little higher pressure on M/T tires on the street, particularly on the fronts. This seems to help slow down the cupping on the outside edges.

As for the "Hawk", I'll probably back them off to about 36 and see how they feel.
 
#16 ·
Werd. I have A/T on my rig so just wondering what u should have.. I was thinking 36. Sound is nominal and the ride isn't splashy or too hard
 
#17 ·
I just put the 275/65/18s with pro comp 7036 rims and I am experiencing rubbing in the front. I was wondering it is because the pro comp rims are 18x9. I have seen others with these tires and no one has had much of a issue. Am i missing something?
 
#18 · (Edited)
CT...

Just looked at the Pro Comp site for the "pro comp 7036" wheels. They say the 7036's are 18x9 with 5" of back spacing with 0mm of offset.

Stock 18X8 rims (the flat, wide 5 spoke type) like the ones I'm running, have ~6.75" of back spacing, so it looks like your rims do not have enough positive offset.

You didn't say where your tires are rubbing?
 

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#19 · (Edited)
They are rubbing in the front when I turn. I can't really make a wide turn without it hitting even with the highest setting. My question is if I put the silent armors on these new rims I should be ok or should I just put back my trailhawk stock rims with the duratracs?
 
#20 ·
JEEP Tube Type Rock Rail Install

I had been wanting to put a set of the "tube-type" rails on my Trailhawk so I bit the bullet and ordered a set from my local dealer. Jeep should have installed the tube type rails on the Trailhawks from the get go!

Best advice if your going to install your own.

1) Buy a metric 6mm / 1.0 thread pitch plug tap (about $8.00) and a can of WD-40. Run the tap through the "nuts" that are welded to the rail that will bolt up against the pinch weld seam under the vehicle. The nuts will be full of powder coating and some weld splatter. Don't use the bolts in the kit to clean the threads.

2) Roll the Jeep up on some 2x10 boards, just that little bit of extra clearance helps.

3) Having a buddy help lift the new rail(s) into position helps but isn't necessary.

4) On the body pinch weld seam(s), 8 holes per side, elongate the holes about 1/16" on each one of the hole. You don't want to make the hole bigger in diameter, just want to remove a little material on the sides (horizontal).
I also took the time to apply some rust-oleum paint along the edges of the holes.

4) NOTE: The instructions say to first lift the rail up and loosely bolt it to the body pinch weld seam (under the vehicle).

DON'T do this because it will be a royal pain in the arse to get the rail up and over the 12 bolts that are up along the side of the body. These are the bolts you see when you open the doors.

This is where the "buddy" comes in handy. Instead, lift the rail up and position it over the 12 bolts (by the doors) and loosely attach the flange nuts. Next use a couple of jacks to raise the rail up to the body pinch weld seam.

Now you can check for hole alignment and make sure you can start all the bolts with just your fingers.

Then put the stifferner bar up to the pinch weld seam and start inserting the 8 bolts. Having elongated these holes on the pinch weld seam just makes this process sooooo much easier.

Once all the nuts and bolts are snug, including the flag bolts that come up from the bottom of the rail (3 per side) go back and torque everything to spec.

Done.

Pics to follow...

 
#21 ·
After pulling off the stock Trailhawk rails I found there was a fair amount of fine sand/silt inside the rails, about 1/4" deep. The collection points are around the center two cross braces. There's a total of four cross braces per rail.

Sure glad I don't live in an area where they salt the roads in the winter.

Before I installed the new rails I drilled 1/8" drain hole next to the center braces, then painted the bare metal. While I was at it I also sanded down the areas on the brackets that hold the front and rear inner fender liners and gave them a good coat of paint.

These brackets are used on the GC's that have the plastic lower side body panels. When the "rock rails" are installed these are folded back and the paint pops off.

On the bottom of the "rails", both the stock one and the tube type, there are five openings, two 1-1/2" rectangles, one at each end (for the jack lift points), and three 1-1/4" holes (for the flag bolts used in mounting the rails to the body). To help eliminate the sand and silt getting up inside the rails I plan on cutting some thin aluminum sheet, drill a 1/4" drain hole and the just RTV them over these openings.
 

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#22 ·
I wonder if the trail Hawks of the northeast will have rust problems bc of what you found... Maybe post a thread about that for the rest of the crew that aren't subscribed to this thread... Good find!
 
#24 ·
Yes. Though about putting them on the daughter/son-in-law's '12 GC. But since they just sold it no need to hang on to them. Not enough room for three car seats for the two year old and the new twins in the GC.

Also have the front/rear JEEP rubber/slush floor mats available.
 
#28 ·
Just guessing, both rails boxed up would be about 75-80lbs (don't have a scale). Box would be about 8"x8"x6'6". I'd wrap them up way better than what Jeep does. They just tossed them in a box with little to no packing. Even the Jeep parts manager was surprised as to how poorly they were boxed.
 
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